Venkateswar Rao Pumbla Vs Assistant Commissioner (ST) (Telangana High Court)
Telangana High Court Grants Two Weeks to File GST Appeals Against Demand Orders; Delay Condonation to Be Considered
Summary: The Telangana High Court disposed of two writ petitions filed by M/s. Venkateswar Rao Pumbla challenging GST adjudication orders dated 15 September 2025 and 27 December 2025, together with their corresponding summaries in Form GST DRC-07. The orders related to the tax periods April 2023 to March 2024 and April 2021 to March 2022, respectively. The petitioner asserted that it became aware of the outstanding tax liability only after receiving a telephone call from the department regarding recovery. During the hearing, the petitioner sought liberty to pursue statutory appeals against both orders and requested sympathetic consideration of the delay in approaching the appellate authority.
The State Tax authorities submitted that the petitioner could raise all available factual and legal grounds before the appellate authority. Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the demands or the petitioner’s contentions, the High Court granted liberty to file appeals within two weeks, accompanied by the statutory pre-deposit and applications for condonation of delay. The appellate authority was directed to consider the question of delay in light of the relevant facts and circumstances and, if satisfied, proceed to decide the appeals on merits in accordance with law. The Court did not itself condone the delay, determine the validity of the demands or decide whether the adjudication orders had been properly served. Both writ petitions were disposed of without costs, and pending miscellaneous applications were closed.
IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD
Learned counsel Sri B.Srinivas appears for the petitioner.
Sri Swaroop Oorilla, learned Special Government Pleader for State Tax, appears for respondents No.1 and 2.
2. W.P.No.32857 of 2026 has been preferred against the impugned order dated 15.09.2025 passed by respondent No.1 read with the summary of the order in Form GST DRC-07 dated 15.09.2025 for the tax period April 2023 – March 2024. W.P.No.32870 of 2026 has been preferred against the impugned order dated 27.12.2025 passed by respondent No.1 read with the summary of the order in Form GST DRC-07 dated 27.12.2025 for the tax period April 2021 – March 2022.
3. The petitioner has approached this Court alleging that it has come to know about the liability only when it received a call from the department for recovery of the tax.
4. However, after some arguments, learned counsel for the petitioner seeks liberty to the petitioner to prefer appeals against the impugned orders. He submits that some delay might have been occurred in approaching the appellate authority and therefore, the appellate authority may be directed to consider the appeals sympathetically.
5. Learned Special Government Pleader for State Tax submits that the petitioner is at liberty to prefer appeals against the impugned orders taking all the grounds as are available to it in law and on facts before the appellate authority in respect of the subject tax periods.
6. However, upon hearing the learned counsel for the parties, since the petitioner seeks liberty to prefer appeals, we do not wish to comment on the merits of the contentions raised by the parties.
7. Therefore, we grant liberty to the petitioner to prefer appeals within a period of two weeks with statutory pre-deposit and delay condonation applications. The petitioner may take all such grounds of law and on facts in the memos of appeals as are available to it. Needless to say, the appellate authority would consider the question of delay taking into account the aforesaid facts and circumstances and if it is satisfied on the point of delay, proceed to decide the appeals on merits in accordance with law.
8. The writ petitions are accordingly disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs.
Miscellaneous applications pending, if any, shall stand closed.
